11 October 2011

a few weeks ago I mentioned Minette our latest rescued pygmy hedgehog on Facebook. Minette is a female hedgehog (I know because I checked). I think she is quite young because her little breasts still look quite firm.

She was ok when we rescued her on a road near our house except for a fungus infection on her skin that would create wounds and make her loose her spikes. She has been a courageous little trouper and she has healed very well with spikes growing back and her skin going back to normal. With good food, vitamins, disinfectant, aloe vera and lots of love and rest, she was ready to go back in the wild. We choose to release her at Kimemo which is a property in the middle of coffee plantations in Arusha with a lot of bushes and far from high traffic roads.

On the photo above you can still see some spots where the spikes are slowly growing back.

Minette despite her small size is very strong and did not like to be hold. The only exception was after the bath when rolled in a towel.

She was a funny little one.

We even took back Muffin’s house and she understood right away that she could go and hide in it. Tough her best hiding location was to climb inside a cardboard box full of papers and stuck herself in there between papers and the side.

Here she is on the ground and right away she knows what to do.

Even if pygmy hedgehogs are nocturnal animals and have a day vision close to zero she spotted the bigger bush and went to hide.